1. Field
The present invention relates generally to communications and, more specifically, to provisioning and activation of an embedded module in an access terminal in a wireless communication system.
2. Background
With the proliferation of wireless communication capability in a wide variety of applications, many laptop computers and other computing devices, require cellular or other wireless access. The wireless functions are provided by a module located within the laptop or other computing device. Such wireless access is through a service provider or carrier. The service provider or carrier requires provisioning and activation of the embedded device for wireless access to ensure payment for services, avoid fraudulent uses and provide accounting and billing information. Typically, when a user purchases a cellular phone, the phone is provisioned and activated at the point of purchase or by over-the-air (OTA) provisioning. Point of purchase service provisioning is not convenient for computing devices with embedded modules, as the modules are not typically accessible in a store selling computing devices. Further, the point of purchase of the computing device is not typically capable of providing provisioning and activation, and would force the user to take the computing device to another store for provisioning and activation.
There is a need therefore, for a method and apparatus of provisioning and activating a module, used for wireless communication, within a computing or other device, such as a laptop computer. Further, there is a need to allow over-the-air provisioning (OTA) and authentication of such devices.